Bernice Dlugus loves to read history books.
She has read everything that she could get her hands on from books on documentaries to biographies of the rich and famous. Dlugus sifted through hundreds of books at the former Mary JL Black Library buck a bag book sale on Saturday.
She said she was on the lookout for the novelization of a BBC documentary series called Europe at War.
“I love books and I love history books and biographies,” Dlugus said. “I’ve always been to book sales and I have lots of books at home. I’m a collector of books. I loved history in school and I guess it is still with me.”
Megan Nelson shared Dlugus’ passion for books. The 16-year-old Grade 11 Superior Collegiate and Vocational Institute had a bag full of books within the first couple of minutes of being at the sale.
“I really love reading and I thought this was a good opportunity to get some new books,” Dlugus said. “I really hoping to get some good chapter books to read and keep me busy over breaks and distract me from my schoolwork.”
Despite the new additions to her collection, she said Lucy Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables would always be her favourite.
Nadine Ellement, a coordinator for the book sale, said she was surprised by the amount of people that turned up in the morning. With more than 3,000 books, CDs, DVDs, and VHS tapes spread out across the basement, Ellement said she hoped they could sell as much as possible but doubted that everything would be sold by the end of the day.
“Last time we had to pack up about a hundred cartons because there are books that nobody really wants,” Ellement said. “I think the biggest draw for this is that it is a dollar a bag and I think the allure of the hidden treasure. They all figure they are going to find that one book that’s going to be worth a $100. Some of them might. You never know.”
--- Follow Jeff Labine on Twitter: @Labine_reporter
